They manufacture the first masks for burned people, made in Bolivia!

An American expert came to train, in the development of parts, which help restore functionality of victims’ burned-faces.

Por the first time in Bolivia, hospitals in Bolivia, make compressors’ masks for people with serious burns, which until recently had to be imported at high costs. They are plastic and help heal and give functionality to the skin of the affected person.

The American therapist Richard Sicller arrived on Sunday to train in the manufacture of masks for the Bolivian-Dutch Children’s Hospital staff, of El Alto and to the Rehabilitation Center of the Burned. “It’s the first time this rehabilitation instrument will be made in Bolivia,” said the expert.

The mask prevents deformation in the face after suffering a burn that causes contraction of the skin. “It needs to be placed after the wound has healed,” said Sicller and said that the transparent mask, presses the scar to the skin, so that skin is smooth and does not shrink.

The instrument also gives functionality to the skin around the mouth, lips and eyes. “After a burn, the pain is so much that people do not move her mouth or eyes and the skin then contracts. With the mask functionality is given to these sensitive areas,” he said.

The specialist said that treatment for a burn face is long, but it is possible for the patient to regain mobility of his face as much as 80%. According to the also Yale University consultant, “the poorest people suffer from burns, usually in the hands, feet and face. The children are the most affected.”

According to the Ministry of Health in La Paz and El Alto, every year, 6,000 children suffering from burns, mostly from boiling water or oil.

Development of the masks

Burn masks are made with thick plastic called Yuvex. “First a mold of the patient’s face is made with the same material used for dental plates. When the mold is filled with plaster, it is left to dry for a day,” he said.

That mold is placed in a kind of oven, unique artifact in Bolivia, which was donated by the Rotary Club La Paz Sur. “The center piece is placed over the Yuvex sheet, that melts and shapes the mold. Then goes to a centrifuge system, where the mask cools off in five minutes” which is attached with elastic to the head.

30 masks were developed in the country. Thereafter, costs will be subsidized to be free. “Everything will depend on a study to the patient’s family,” said the manager of the Center for Rehabilitation of Burned, Rodolfo Aguirre.

In the center, psychological, physical therapy and surgery are also awarded services. Compressors also make garments for the burned arms, hands and legs. Currently, the first epidemiological record of the burned is been made.

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